I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat assembly for a motor vehicle, as well as a motor vehicle fitted with such a seat assembly.
II. Description of Related Art
Motor vehicle seats, and in particular the front seats, must meet a number of requirements, in particular safety, comfort, and durability requirements.
To meet these requirements, such seats have become relatively voluminous. In fact, they have a heavy and bulky frame and hinges to withstand violent impacts caused when the motor vehicle strikes an obstacle or when the vehicle overturns. Although the presence of such voluminous frames and hinges increases the overall bulk of the seat, the rigidity of the seat remains inadequate.
There are solutions that consist in relocating the central mountings placed under the seat to side mountings under the seat, which make it possible to increase the space available for the feet of the rear passengers in the vehicle, but which do not improve the space available at the level of the knees of the rear passengers in the vehicle.
The document EP 1,247,724 describes a seat comprising an additional mounting point, which improves the strength in the event of an impact of the vehicle, and reduces the bulk of such a seat. However, the number of parts required for the construction of this seat is large, and therefore costly.
The document WO 03/057524 relates to a pair of front seats of a motor vehicle comprising a central pillar extending from the floor to the roof of the vehicle and a central support forward of the central pillar. The seat cushion, the squab, and the headrest of the two seats are connected to the central pillar by support members. Such a pair of seats does not allow any adjustment of the position of the seats, which is a real nuisance and very uncomfortable for the passengers of a motor vehicle.